LGBTQIA+ people are not only welcome,
we lead ministries.
St. Michael's Church has long made equal rights and full inclusion for LGBTQIA+ persons in the community and church a priority. Because of the welcome the parish has extended over the years, many gay, lesbian, bi-, and transgender persons are part of the congregation, and a number of these parishioners are raising children in families with their spouses/partners. The parish has blessed committed same-sex covenants for sometime. With the approval by the Episcopal Church in the summer of 2015 of full marriage equality, St. Michael's now celebrates the marriages of all persons who come seeking God's blessing of their relationships.
Invite your friends and family. Everyone is welcome. We would appreciate it if you would help us spread the word about this event to anyone you think would be interested and find it meaningful.
St. Michael’s participates in the regular gatherings of the Diocese of the Rio Grande LGBTQ+ Ministries which is rotated among Episcopal parishes in Albuquerque. We march together in the Pride parade and provide opportunities for fellowship and shared live for LGBTQ+ people.
The LGBTQIA+ Community at St. Michael's
St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church has a long history of advocating for equal rights and the full inclusion for LGBTQIA+ persons in the community and church. This commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community has been part of our ethos since 1974.
Our public commitment to the LGBTQIA+ started with our early support of Integrity USA, the LGBTQIA+ and allies group affiliated with The Episcopal Church working to support equal protection and opportunity for LGBTQIA+ Episcopalians. While we are saddened by the dissolution of the group, we are grateful for much of its history and witness to the larger church.
In 1996, St. Michael’s offered a liturgy to the LGBTQIA+ community as a way to openly affirm and offer an apology on how the larger Christian church had treated the LGBTQIA+ community. While St. Michael’s bore a cost from the diocese and larger secular community for holding this service, it also raised our visibility in Albuquerque and in the country and placed us in the forefront of LGBTQIA+ issues.
In 2010, we hosted the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson for a public speaking engagement around his journey of faith and his call to be a bishop in the church. With the permission from the Bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande, Bishop Robinson also preached at St. Michael’s during his visit.
When the national church began its needed work around developing commitment ceremonies and rites for the LGBTQIA+ community, we were proud that our then rector, the Rev. Brian C. Taylor, was asked to chair the Episcopal Church's Task Force on the Study of Marriage. In that work, the committee spearheaded the development of The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant, a Liturgical Resource for Blessing Same Sex Relationships. This resource was authorized for provisional use by the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in July 2012, three years before the Supreme Court decided Obergefell v. Hodges. The task force’s report offers a thorough analysis of marriage that grounds same-gender marriage in a deeply relational theology. The liturgy (available here) is a lovely alternative to the Blessing and Celebration of a Marriage available in the Book of Common Prayer. We commend both the study and liturgy to your reading and study.
With God’s help, we continue to reach out to marginalized populations, to work toward social justice and to embody a radical hospitality that we might be transformed to thrive and evolve in new and unexpected ways.
In January 2023, we joyfully celebrated a new name and the affirmation of the authentic identity of a long-time parishioner using the Episcopal Church’s Service of Renaming as a part of one of our Sunday morning liturgies.
Our public commitment to the LGBTQIA+ started with our early support of Integrity USA, the LGBTQIA+ and allies group affiliated with The Episcopal Church working to support equal protection and opportunity for LGBTQIA+ Episcopalians. While we are saddened by the dissolution of the group, we are grateful for much of its history and witness to the larger church.
In 1996, St. Michael’s offered a liturgy to the LGBTQIA+ community as a way to openly affirm and offer an apology on how the larger Christian church had treated the LGBTQIA+ community. While St. Michael’s bore a cost from the diocese and larger secular community for holding this service, it also raised our visibility in Albuquerque and in the country and placed us in the forefront of LGBTQIA+ issues.
In 2010, we hosted the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson for a public speaking engagement around his journey of faith and his call to be a bishop in the church. With the permission from the Bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande, Bishop Robinson also preached at St. Michael’s during his visit.
When the national church began its needed work around developing commitment ceremonies and rites for the LGBTQIA+ community, we were proud that our then rector, the Rev. Brian C. Taylor, was asked to chair the Episcopal Church's Task Force on the Study of Marriage. In that work, the committee spearheaded the development of The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant, a Liturgical Resource for Blessing Same Sex Relationships. This resource was authorized for provisional use by the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in July 2012, three years before the Supreme Court decided Obergefell v. Hodges. The task force’s report offers a thorough analysis of marriage that grounds same-gender marriage in a deeply relational theology. The liturgy (available here) is a lovely alternative to the Blessing and Celebration of a Marriage available in the Book of Common Prayer. We commend both the study and liturgy to your reading and study.
With God’s help, we continue to reach out to marginalized populations, to work toward social justice and to embody a radical hospitality that we might be transformed to thrive and evolve in new and unexpected ways.
In January 2023, we joyfully celebrated a new name and the affirmation of the authentic identity of a long-time parishioner using the Episcopal Church’s Service of Renaming as a part of one of our Sunday morning liturgies.
